InfoWorld's one-stop shop on the new Microsoft OS, what it does, how it performs, and how to deploy it

The Oct. 22 official release of Windows 7 will likely be anticlimactic, given the new Microsoft OS's months-long availability as a public beta and the thousands of stories about the Windows that Microsoft hopes will make the world forget the debacle that was Vista.

But now that Windows 7 is real, most people will get serious about deciding whether -- or, more likely, when -- to adopt it. Whether you stuck with XP, braved the move to Vista, or use a competing OS such as Mac OS X or desktop Linux, now's the time to decide what to do about Windows 7. To that end, InfoWorld has created the definitive guide to Windows 7, from the InfoWorld Test Center's exhaustive benchmarks to determining the ROI of a Windows 7 investment.

Follow the links below to the articles that will help you decide when and how to make the move to Windows 7. We've categorized them to make it easier to tackle each of your questions and needs one at a time. For easy access to these Windows 7 resources, we recommend you bookmark "Windows 7: The essential guide."

Windows 7: An overview of what's new

InfoWorld's Windows 7 Deep Dive PDF report: Get the inside scoop on the newest Microsoft operating system, and see how well it performs, how to tune up its security, and how to migrate from Windows XP in this 21-page PDF guide from InfoWorld's editors and contributors.